


Let's Fake This Shit Together

by FizzyFanatic, shoutynubs



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Best Friends to Lovers, Cuddling, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Gay, M/M, The End, alright ill be honest idfk what to tag, everyone thinks they fucked, reassurance, then michael reveals his gay, then they fuck up by pulling an all-nighter, they didnt, they gay it up in a basement, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 06:18:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11526300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FizzyFanatic/pseuds/FizzyFanatic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoutynubs/pseuds/shoutynubs
Summary: Jeremy and Michael come to school after an all-nighter and suddenly need to pretend to be together.





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> howdy yall this is my first fanfic so like dont be too much of an asshole with criticism like seriously i havent done something like this since sixth grade when I wrote minecraft fanfiction (god help me)
> 
> anyways enjoy these shenanigans

“Hey, Michael!” Jeremy hollered down the stairs. It felt like the trillionth time he’d run down them, the trillionth time he walked into Michael’s basement, the trillionth time he’d found Michael hunched over in front of the TV focused on an old-school N64 or Sega Genesis or GameCube game.

“How’s it hangin’, Jer?” he questioned without looking away from the TV before the death tune came on. Michael ran his fingers through his usually-styled-but-now-deformed hair and flopped back in the beanbag chair. They had a set of them at both of their houses for video game purposes. 

“‘Apocalypse of the Damned: Hellscape’? Really, Michael?” Jeremy plopped down in a beanbag himself, tossing his backpack off to the side. 

“Alright, I know what you’re going to say, ‘Michael, everyone knows that game is trash and wasn’t meant for Playstation 2,’ but listen to me when I say that this game has a GOOD story!” Jeremy rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’m serious, dude!” Michael continued. “The writers actually knew what they were doing with this one.” He reached back for his controller, navigating to ‘Restart’ as if it was as natural as breathing.

“Michael, there is nothing you can say or do to get me to like this game. It’s just too buggy, man!” Jeremy waved his arms in the air as he spoke, gesturing wildly as he finished.

“Aw, c’mon! At least give it a…” Michael trailed off as he glanced back over at Jeremy. “You’re doing it again.” Jeremy blinked, “Oh- Uh,” and realized how tense and upright he was sitting -- a side effect of the Squip. He slowly began to relax into the beanbag, feeling more uncomfortable and on-edge than before.

“The Squip has been gone for, what, two months now? Jeremy, you haven’t even been trying to forget about it.”

“It’s not as easy as you think, it- it’s not just as easy as just flushing a pet goldfish or something, it was like a parasite and- jesus- it just-” He stopped once he felt warmth on his shoulder.

“Dude, calm down. Let’s just forget about it for now, alright? We haven’t had a sleepover like this in forever, let’s just kick back and enjoy the shitshow.” He waved the controller before retreating back to his beanbag, focusing back on the TV.

After a moment of awkward silence, Michael started talking about the different things that make the game good, its story, certain animations, etc. Michael was always good at making conversation like that. One time, Jeremy and Michael got into a really bad fight in middle school, but after 10 minutes of not talking, Michael needed to get the documentary he had watched in study hall out of his head and started conversing again like nothing ever happened. It always bothered Jeremy to an extent, but it was just another one of Michaels charms.

“...And there's apparently a secret ending where- Jeremy, are you listening?”

Jeremy blinked again. No, he wasn’t listening, but how could he phrase that in a polite-ish way?

“Oh- uh, no, sorry, I was thinking about... other... stuff.” He could almost hear the Squip making some sarcastic remark or scoffing at his reply. The one thing that didn’t stick with him was the ability to lie or make a good excuse.

“It’s alright dude, you just seem really on edge, and I’m worried about you. Anything you want to talk about?” Michael paused the game. Michael never paused the game for anything, other than one of his moms calling or an absolute emergency.

“No, I’m fine, really. I was just thinking about the past, like middle school and stuff.” Jeremy made a dismissive motion with his hand.

“What about?” Michael turned towards him.

‘You,’ Jeremy thought, ‘You and your many cool quirks.’

“About our old petty fights, how you always managed to recover from them within hours and we’d be cool again,” he said instead. He felt a little more relaxed just talking with Michael. It really had been a while since they had some one-on-one time what with the ‘Squip Squad’ (that's what they call themselves, apparently) always taking his time away.

“I just hate not talking to you.” Beat. “Hated, I just hated not talking to you.” Another. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?” He quirked an eyebrow, another little thing he does.

“Y-Yeah, yeah I think so. I’m still just a little on edge is all, really. When I do something I still think the squip won’t like or… Shocked me for, I-I just get really nervous.”

Michael placed his hand on his chin, “Well,” he stood. “People think I’m a stoner, right?”

Jeremy nodded somewhat suspiciously, almost knowing where this was going.

“And what’s a stoner without some...” Michael reached in the very back of his shelving and took out a small glass potion bottle he got from North-East Comicon a few years back. Jeremy remembered Michael’s eyes just lighting up when he saw all of them and immediately bought a red one with golden accents and swirls on it. He remembered them walking away, Michael stating as soon as they left the dealer room that he was going to use it for weed.

Jeremy sighed. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

Michael shrugged, trying to repress his smirk. “Mmmayyybe?” Jeremy gave him an annoyed stare. “Oh c’mon, dude, don’t look at me like that! You know this will help in the long run.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Your moms are going to be pissed if they find out.”

“Well, it’s a good thing they’re out on a ‘business’ trip,” Michael said as he began to fill and roll a joint.

“You totally planned this.”

“You know me so well, Jer. Want first hit?”

* * *

 

By the end of the fourth hit, Jeremy and Michael are absolutely gone.

“So, like,” Jeremy began haltingly, trying to gather his thoughts. “What do you think would happen if I drank normal mountain dew?”

“Dude… I have no idea…” Michael sounded faint and far away.

Jeremy was relaxed into the beanbag chair now without a care in the world, while Michael looked like he was about to sink into the void and never come back.

“Would it just come back? Is it broken? Would it be stronger? I need answers, Michael.” He looked over at his friend, who was almost fully sunken into the beanbag and snorted. “Dude, you look like you’re going to disappear.”

“Mmf mfmf fm.”

“Dude, get out before you actually get lost in the void.” Jeremy stood up slowly, walking over to Michael’s now beanbag-engulfed self. “Michael?”

“Mmf.”

Jeremy started pulling on Michael’s arm as a weak attempt to save him, but Michael pulled back, yanking Jeremy down next to him so that he was half on the beanbag, half on him. He poked his head out of the beanbag sinkhole. “The void’s got you now.”

Jeremy lifted up his head and suddenly realized how close his face was to Michael’s. He tried to move away a little, afraid he’d make him uncomfortable, but Michael kept his grip on Jeremy’s forearm. “Well Jeremy thinks the void needs to let go because this beanbag is too small for two people.”

“The void says it’s fine, the void is small enough for both of them to fit.”

 

“Jeremy asks why are they talking in third person?”

 

“The void says shh.”

 

“Jeremy thinks the void should move over because Jeremy is slipping.”

 

“Or the void could do  _ this. _ ” Michael wrapped his arms around Jeremy’s torso. 

 

“Michael, what are you-”

He pulled Jeremy up, making sure he wouldn’t fall and sang, “So Jer-my pull me closer in the back of your PT Cruiser~”

Jeremy squirmed around until he was comfortable. He wasn’t really used to this much human contact considering the past couple months and remembered how touchy-feely Michael was before everything. It was going to take a lot of re-learning and getting used to.

“That I know you can’t afford~” He continued, gesturing around wildly as he sang.

“Bite that tattoo on your forearm~” Michael grabbed Jeremy’s right arm and licked up his pacman tattoo.

Jeremy screeched and yanked his arm back, sputtering, “MICHAEL, GROSS WHY WOULD YOU-” He looked back at Michael, who was laughing his ass off.

“That- that scream- oh my god- Jer-jeremy I think I’m dying-” Jeremy flushed with embarrassment, his whole face red. “I feel myself ascending- Jeremy, I see the light,” he gasped.

Jeremy flicked Michael’s nose playfully. “Stop making fun of me, you jerk.”

“Aww, is Jewemy embawwassed?” He poked Jeremy’s cheek. “C’mon, dude, you know I’m just playing around, I used to do stuff like this to you all the time.”

“I know, it just feels new, sort of…”

“If you don’t like it, I’ll stop, man.” Michael released Jeremy’s torso, raising his arms.

“No, it’s not like- like  _ bad _ or anything, it’s just… new? Like, I know I need to relearn everything and stuff, but it just feels different than before.” 

“So is what I’m doing, like, cool?”

“Well I’ve gotta get used to it sometime.”

* * *

 

“Aw come on! Are you kidding me?” Jeremy yelled, rubbing his face and tossing the controller to Michael.

“Watch, I’m going to get it this time, just you wait.” Michael went to press ‘Restart’ before one of his phone notifications went off. Jeremy glanced at it to check the time, but accidentally read the notification.

“‘Remember to go to sleep’? Michael, you still have the reminder I set for you on?”

“What? Sometimes I pull all-nighters on exam nights and…yeah.” Jeremy quirked his eyebrow in an all-knowing look, prompting the other for the  _ real _ reason. “Okay, my insomnia has been acting up again lately, so what? It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“Michael, the last time you had insomnia was when your parents were thinking about getting a divorce, what happened this time?”

He ran his fingers through his hair, “Nothing, man, let’s just keep playing. I think we’re almost halfway done with the game.” Almost as soon as Michael hit ‘Restart’, he died again.

“Michael.” Jeremy said, placing his hand on the other’s knee.

“It’s just dumb thoughts that keep me awake, nothing worth worrying about.”

“Well, uh, do you wanna talk about it or anything?” Jeremy was never good at comforting. Sadly, that’s something the Squip decided to never touch down on.

“No, I just...” He paused, “I just really missed talking to you, Jer,” He flashed a smile at Jeremy before turning back to the screen, doing significantly better than before.

* * *

“MICHAEL, WATCH OUT!”

 

“I’M WATCHING OUT THE BEST I CAN!”

 

“C’MON, DUDE, YOU GOT THIS!”

 

“I GOT THIS!”

The two boys were screaming at each other while attempting to beat the final level in  _ Apocalypse of the Damned: Hellscape _ . Jeremy yelped as an enemy attacked from off screen, nearly killing their character. Michael laughed at him.

“Jesus, this isn’t even supposed to be a horror game, why do so many bad guys pop out like that?!” he breathed.

“Don’t ask me, man, I’m just trying- AH-” Michael jumped this time around and it was Jeremy's turn to laugh. “Shut up, that one was actually unexpected. You jumped, too!” Jeremy tried to reply but was tearing up with how hard he was laughing. Michael growled, “If I wasn’t in the middle of this, I would come over there with this beanbag and smother you.”

Jeremy pretended to wipe away a tear and laid back in the beanbag, glancing out the window. His eyes widened and he checked the clock. “Dude.”

“Yeah?”

 

“It’s already five in the morning.”

 

“And? We’ve done this be-”

 

“It’s a school night,” Jeremy finished.

Michael’s eyes widened. He quickly paused and saved the game. “We have a math test today,” he finally spoke.

Beat.

Then he started screaming, “DUDE, WE’RE SO DEAD, WE’RE GOING TO FAIL, I ALREADY HAVE A C- IN THAT CLASS, MY MOM’S GOING TO-”

“Michael!” Jeremy placed his hand on the other’s shoulder. “Calm down. If we go to sleep right now, without changing, we can probably get an hour of sleep, two if we skip part of our morning routine.”

Michael looked at him with absolute fear in his eyes before glancing around deep in thought. “Michael?” Then he stood, threw Jeremy over his shoulder, and charged upstairs. “MICHAEL, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU-” Jeremy shrieked. They entered Michael’s room, where he tossed Jeremy down on the bed before flicking off the lights and throwing himself onto it as well. Jeremy’s heart was left racing.

“MICHAEL WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! Where- where did you even learn to do that- how are you even that strong- what-”

“I started going to the gym after all the Squip stuff was over and you were busy with Christine. That, and you’re really light. G’night!”

He was snoring within seconds, and Jeremy was left with a lot of unanswered questions.

* * *

 

_ BEEP _

_ BEEP _

_ BEEP _

_ BEEP _

 

_ SMACK _

 

Michael threw his hand over and snoozed the alarm. It was 7:00 and- wait, what? He adjusted his glasses. Yeah, 7:00 AM, but that meant…

“WE’RE GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!” Jeremy lifted his head sleepily, muttering a ‘ _ Wha…? _ ’ in the process.

“Jeremy, wake up! We have twenty minutes to get ready and be at school!” He jumped up and yanked the blanket off the other. Jeremy gave an annoyed whine in response and Michael ignored the flutter in his chest - something he’s learned to do after all the years. “Jeremy! Ugh.” Michael slipped on his shoes and grabbed his bag and a pillow, throwing the pillow at Jeremy, who finally sat up and slid off the bed, rubbing his face. Michael left the room for a moment, came back, and threw a granola bar at him.

“I’ll meet you out in the car, get your stuff!” And he was gone.

Jeremy got up and ran a hand through his hair. He swiped the granola bar off the bed and ran downstairs to grab his bag and shoes. He passed the mirror in the hall and backed up, looking into it.

“Jesus Christ, I look… Terrible” He stared for a moment longer, getting flashbacks to the Squip.

_ Everything about you is so terrible _

_ “Everything about me is just terrible” _

_ Now you've got it _

He shook his head and went back to retrieving his stuff. He locked the door before heading outside and hopping in the passenger side of the trusty PT Cruiser. He looked over at Michael and realized he looked like hell, too.

“We have ten minutes to get to school and it’s a fifteen minute drive…”

“If we’re a few minutes late, I don’t think it will-”

 

_ SQUEEL _

  
  



	2. Chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy and Michael totally banged but not really

They arrived in the school parking lot at 7:18 and were in the school at 7:19, barely making it to class by 7:21.

They bombed the test.

They went through the next few periods without many issues.

They grabbed their lunch and headed to their table that was now occupied by all the cool kids, aka, the ‘Squip Squad’.

 

“And then Madeline apparently- Oh my god…” Jenna stopped as they sat down.

 

“Dude…” Jake was next.

 

“You guys look like you got hit by a bus.” Chloe stated.

 

“We... didn’t get much sleep. I stayed over Michael’s and we were up all night.” Jeremy explained.

Jenna and Chloe’s eyes widened and Jenna immediately began typing on her phone. Rich raised an eyebrow and cracked a knowing smirk. “All night, huh?” He questioned. 

“...Yeah?” Jeremy replied, slightly confused. Michael didn’t enjoy conversing as much as Jeremy did so he already had his headphones on blasting some  _ Beatles _ or  _ Marley _ or anything really.

Rich snickered, “Congratulations on losing the V-card, dude!”

 

“Bwuh?”

 

“I always knew you were bi! It’s no surprise you two are finally together.”

 

“Yeah, took you long enough.” Chloe interjected.

 

“W-What? N-No, what are you- It’s not like that!” Jeremy stammered, his face flushing with embarrassment. “We were just-”

 

“No need to be in the closet about it, Jer. We all saw it coming and we’re proud of you,” Rich continued and got up to pat his back.

Jeremy slammed his head on the table, absolutely mortified, making Michael perk up and take his headphones off. “What’s going on?”

 

“Congrats, Michael! We’re proud of you!” Brooke placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“...What? Why?”

 

Rich answered, “You finally got it on with Jeremy! It’s been like, what, forever since-”

“Wait- what are you talking about?” Michael cut him off, his turn to blush.

“Jeremy said you two had sex-”

Jeremy’s head shot up. “I DID NOT SAY THAT! You put those words in my mouth! We stayed up playing  _ Apocalypse of the Damned: Hellscape _ ! Not- Not doing… THAT!”

 

“Wait so…” Jenna paused, “You DIDN’T have sex?”

 

“No!”

 

“Oh…” Beat. “Well, Um… the whole school thinks you did now sooo…” she trailed off

“What?!” It was Michael’s turn to freak out. “Why would you tell everyone that?! Even if we did, why would it be okay to tell the whole school?!”

Jenna shrugged. “The school needs to be kept up with all the latest drama, and it’s kind of my job to keep everyone updated. It’s kind of a big deal.”

“Well, can’t you tell them it was a misunderstanding?!” Jeremy questioned.

“What, and make everyone think I’m a liar? Hell no.” She went back to typing on her phone.

“Jesus Christ, what are we gonna do now?!” Jeremy held his face in his hands.

“You could just... play along with the lie?” Christine suggested, finally breaking into the conversation, her poor innocent soul probably traumatized.

“Is that really the best solution?” Michael asked.

“Yes.” Everyone replied simultaneously.

Michael placed his head on the table.

* * *

 

The next few weeks were hell.

Originally, Jeremy and Michael weren't going to go along with it. But then Jenna started to get suspicious looks and eventually got questioned about her authenticity. She told them to act more like a couple in order to clear her name, which led to some awkward hand-holding and hugs that lasted a little too long. Michael didn’t really complain, but always stopped whatever they were doing if Jeremy got uncomfortable. Jeremy didn’t really mind either, but was mostly afraid of making Michael uncomfortable.

But after a while he started to feel weird.

It was truly hell.

Around two and a half weeks in, they all sat down at lunch. Michael had his headphones back on and was eating gas station sushi from Seven-Eleven, absent-mindedly holding Jeremy’s hand from across the table as Jeremy was doing homework.

“So… Is someone gonna say it?” Chloe spoke up. Everyone except Michael glanced up at her.

“Are you guys actually together now or what?” Rich continued for her.

“What? No, we’re just going along with the plan like you’re all forcing us to do!” Jeremy semi-snapped.

“You know you could have acted like you broke up, like, a week ago, right?”

“What?! Are you serious?!” Jeremy exclaimed and snagged his hand back from Michael to wildly gesture as he spoke. Michael took off his headphones.

“We could have just stopped at any time?! Why didn’t you tell us?!” Jeremy continued.

“We were going to! But…” Jenna trailed off.

 

“You guys looked so happy! We didn’t want to ruin it…” Brooke finished.

 

“We’ve only been acting like that for Jenna!”

 

“Wait, Jeremy, you’re breaking up with me?” Michael joked and Jeremy gave him an annoyed stare. “I thought what we had was special…” He placed his hands over his chest. Jeremy crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow.

“Wait, you guys can’t break up!” Jenna exclaimed.

Jeremy turned to look at her “But you just said-”

“Yet!” She added. “You guys need to have a build up to it, make a scene, make it look real!” Jeremy gave her the annoyed stare this time. “My reputation depends on it.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Ugh, fine. We’ll do it in a couple days or- or something.” He went back to doing his homework.

“Yay! Thanks guys!”

* * *

JennaBanana: Uh oh, guys, we’ve got a problem…

 

ChristineCanIGetUhhh: Oh no! What’s wrong, Jenna?

 

ChloePink: gr8 what now

 

BrookeBerry: :(

 

JereBear: What’s happening?

 

JereBear: Rich, did you change my name again?!

 

RichBitch: ;)

 

JakeDillPickle: whats going on

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: wait who added me back to the chat

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: i wasnt even squipped 

 

JennaBanana: Well it’s a good thing you’re here because this is about you and Jeremy

 

JereBear: Again?

 

JennaBanana: Yeah, and you’re not going to like it.

 

JennaBanana: Madeline and her group of friends are REALLY suspicious and want pics…

 

JennaBanana: Of you two kissing…

 

JereBear: WHAT?!

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: JENNA WHY?!

 

JereBear: Just say you don’t have photos!

 

JennaBanana: That’s the problem…

 

JennaBanana: I said I did…

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: AKJHDSGAJD

 

JereBear: HOW ARE WE GOING TO FAKE THAT?!

 

JennaBanana: That’s for you two to figure out…

 

JennaBanana: But my reputation is on the line, so…

 

JennaBanana: If you figure out how, can you make it quick?

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: so what

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: im just going to drive over to jeremys house just to take a photo of us kissing so you can spread it around?

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: because that sounds a little ridiculous and time consuming

 

JennaBanana: Then get to it!

 

[JennaBanana is Offline]

 

JereBear: God damn it!

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: :/

 

RichBitch: ;0

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: shut up rich

 

RichBitch: :,(

 

JakeDillPickle: this is...

 

ChloePink: wow

 

ChloePink: that was alot 2 take in

 

BrookeBerry: Im sorry michael and jerry :(((

 

BrookeBerry: jeremy*

 

ChristineCanIGetUhhh: This is going to get weird, I’m sorry guys!

 

JereBear: Jesus Christ…

 

[JereBear is Offline]

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: theres gotta be a way around this

 

RichBitch: As if you WANT a way around this

 

RichBitch: If you know what I mean ;)

 

[MichaelInTheChatroom Kicked RichBitch]

 

[RichBitch added by JakeDillPickle]

 

RichBitch: :,,,(

 

[MichaelInTheChatroom is Offline]

* * *

 

“How good are you at photoshopping?” Jeremy asked Michael. They were on the phone trying to figure out how to go about their latest predicament.

“I dropped out of Digital Photography, you tell me.”

 

“Maybe we could pay someone to photoshop it?”

 

“And risk Jenna getting found out? Sorry, but I don’t want my head on a stake. That girl scares me, man.”

 

“Ughhh...” Jeremy rubbed his eyes. The only solution left was…

“The last thing we can do is actually do it.” Jeremy’s stomach did the fluttering thing that he’d been feeling for the past couple weeks. He grimaced. “I-It would be fake though, so we don’t need to worry about it getting weird.”

There was a silence. “Alright, I’ll be over in a minute,” was all Michael said, then hung up.

 

He arrived at Jeremy’s around 8 minutes later (He counted), and Jeremy watched him walk from the driveway to the front door. He heard the door open and Michael greet his dad. “Hey, Mr. Heere. Where’s Jeremy?”

“Hello, Michael! He’s up in his room. You look a bit pale, is something wrong?”

 

“I’m fine, it’s probably just my, uh, lack of a tan…”

 

His weak lie trailed off as he headed for the stairs. Jeremy had his face in his phone, trying to distract himself from the sound of Michael approaching. He had no idea why he was as nervous as he was, but he hated it. He heard the door opening and looked up and saw Michael, “Hey,” he said as he shut the door.

“H-Hey” Shit.

“So… Are we just going to like, do this? Is there some sort of preparation?” Michael asked as he sat on the bed. “Have either of us even kissed anyone before?”

“Uh… Well, I mean, I kissed Chloe at the halloween party, but that wasn’t really my choice…” Jeremy replied.

 

“Ugh, dude, why do we still talk to her?”

 

Jeremy shrugged. “So, how are we going to do this?”

 

“Maybe we could like... take a selfie or something?”

 

“Uh, okay…” Jeremy said as Michael unlocked his phone and opened the camera. “D-Do we just like… Mash our faces together or-or something?” His face was bright red, but then again, he was always embarrassed over the smallest thing, so Michael wasn't really bothered.

Then again, Michael’s face was red, too. “I guess? Here, let me just…” he cupped Jeremy’s cheek and went for it.

It was awful.

In the picture they looked extremely uncomfortable. Their noses were squishing together and their eyebrows were creased and, “Ugh…” Michael groaned as he looked at the picture. “Should I send it anyways?” 

“Oh- uh, um…” Jeremy was zoning out. “Yeah, yeah go for it.”

Michael sent it.

 

[MichaelInTheChatroom PMed JennaBanana]

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: [img2931.png]

 

JennaBanana: Is that really the best you can do?

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: hey its not easy kissing your best friend when hes probably not all that into it

 

JennaBanana: Well, that sucks, because this photo is unusable. Delete!

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: are you serious?!

 

JennaBanana: Why are you complaining? You’re lucky I haven’t told him you have a major crush on him yet. Just act like it’s natural and go for it.

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: uuughhhhhhhhjasfhdkbjsb

 

JennaBanana: For what it’s worth, I believe in you.

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: >:/

 

[MichaelInTheChatroom is Offline]

 

“We need to redo it.” Michael spoke up.

“What?!” Jeremy nearly screamed. “W-What do you mean?! That photo should have been fine!”

“Jenna wasn’t having it. Look, let’s just pretend it’s someone else this time. You can pretend you’re kissing Jennifer Lawrence and I can pretend I’m kissing Chris Pratt or something.” Michael suggested. Jeremy nodded.

“Alright, here goes… Jenna’s reputation?” This time Jeremy cupped Michael’s face and went for it.

It was a lot nicer.

Their noses still bumped, and Michael’s glasses still got in the way a little, and the kiss lingered for way too long, but their lips moved together and it was--

“Awesome.”

“What?”

“The, uh, picture, it turned out awesome,” Michael lied as they pulled apart. The photo  _ did _ turn out awesome but that was probably the best first real kiss he could have had.

[MichaelInTheChatroom PMed JennaBanana]

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: [img2932.png]

 

JennaBanana: Wow

 

JennaBanana: How are you two not together yet?

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: uh because jeremy likes hot girls and not loser guys?

 

JennaBanana: I don’t know, Michael, he looks really into it…

 

JennaBanana: ;)

 

MichaelInTheChatroom: I told him to imagine Jennifer Lawrence as we did it.

 

JennaBanana: Ouch…

 

JennaBanana: Jennifer Lawrence or not, he still looks really into it and he was kissing you so I’m concluding that he is not straight.

 

JennaBanana: But thanks for the picture! You guys are the best!

 

[JennaBanana is Offline]

 

“We’re good, Jenna liked the photo.”

“Oh… I mean, oh! That’s good, uh…” Jeremy looked away for a second. “We’re still bros, right?”

Michael blinked for a second before chuckling, “Yeah, Jere, we’re still bros,” and gave him a light punch on the shoulder.

Jeremy started laughing, too. “Wanna play some video games? We can play  _ Apocalypse of the Damned 64 _ .”

Michael sighed with relief. “I thought you’d never ask.”


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thrilling conclusion

It was about a week later.

“Okay, so, maybe you guys, like, make a scene in the hall going to math or something?” Brooke suggested.

“That could work, but it needs to be more populated, like the cafeteria,” Rich said.

“Jeremy, you need to act absolutely devastated! If you need help, I can help, Sadness is one of the easiest emotions for me to act,” Christine added.

“Well, if him and Michael are still going to be friends after, should he really be that sad?” Jake asked?

“Oh, you’re right…” Christine replied thoughtfully.

Everyone was helping plan out how Michael and Jeremy were going to ‘break up’. Michael was sitting next to Jeremy instead of across, holding his hand out of habit. For once, his headphones were off and he was interacting with the group. “Are you sure this will work?” he asked. “What if I forget what to say or what if I can’t make it or I freeze up or… or something!?” Michael ran his free hand through his hair. He hated being the center of attention, it was his least favorite position to be in.

“Michael, honey, you’re going to be fine! Trust me, I had stage fright the first time I went up for my first show. You get used to everyone staring at you waiting and watching for your next and every move,” Christine attempted to reassure him. He just gave her a terrified stare. “Uh… Oops?”

“We’re doomed.” Rich said. Jake elbowed him, “Ow- uh, I mean, yeah, Michael, you’ll be fine I’m sure.”

“Michael, if I was able to act at play rehearsal even without the squip, I’m sure you can, too.” Jeremy told him, smiling, and gave the other’s hand a light squeeze. Michael’s heart pounded and he smiled nervously in return. Chloe and Brooke started whispering to each other and Rich cocked his eyebrow.

“...What? What are you looking at?” Jeremy turned back toward everyone.

Rich cleared his throat. “Nothin’, Jere, it’s all good.”

* * *

Michael was nowhere to be found.

Just according to the plan.

Jeremy was going to wait in the cafeteria alone and Michael was going to come up to him and make a scene about their soon-to-be breakup at 12:04 sharp.

Right on cue, Michael was there.

“Jeremy, I need to talk to you…” he said rather loudly. People began to stare and whisper.

“I…” He glanced around at everyone and began to turn paler than he already was. “Um…” He was shaking. He tried taking a deep breath.

“I-I just wanted to say…” Michael never stuttered.

Jeremy knew something was wrong.

“How… Much I love you, haha… I gotta go.” He quickly pulled up his headphones and speed-walked into the C-wing, where his locker was.

“Wait, Michael!” Jeremy followed after him, trying not to make any more of a scene than there already was.

“Michael what-” he turned the corner and was met with Michael sitting at the foot of his locker.

“I couldn’t do it- I just couldn’t do it- I froze up- Jeremy, I’m sorry- I-”

Jeremy sat down next to him. “Dude, calm down. It’s alright, we can wait a little longer if you need to.” He placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael looked over at him. All that went through his mind was ‘ _ kisshimkisshimkisshim _ ’, but then it once again occurred to him that their relationship was fake, and his heart sank. “Thanks, buddy, I can always count on you,” he said instead, flashing a smile.

“Yeah,” Jeremy smiled back, “but you should probably ask Christine for some tips on how to get rid of stage fright…”

Michael nodded. “Probably.”

* * *

 

“You guys had one job.”

Jenna and Chloe stood in front of Michael as he turned around. He was putting all his stuff away for the day when the two suddenly stopped him from leaving. 

“Ugh, look, I’m sorry, alright? But I panicked. I-I just couldn’t say it, everyone was staring and it all seemed too real and it’s… It’s hard, Jenna, it’s really hard,” he finished.

Jenna still looked annoyed and said, “Well, I already told some people that I heard you two were breaking up so…”

“So you need to hurry up and do it. We don’t have forever to get this stupid plan done and over with,” Chloe finished.

“And if I don’t, then what? Jenna is deemed a liar for a month then everything goes back to the way it was?” Michael said defensively.

 

Chloe smirked “And if you don’t, then we’ll come clean-”

 

“Well then, what do I have to worry-”

 

“And tell Jeremy the truth.”

 

Michaels stomach dropped. Chloe was threatening to ruin Michael and Jeremy's twelve years of friendship for some stupid reputation B.S. Jenna seemed a lot less interested in the blackmailing, even looking a little guilty, but didn't protest. “You wouldn’t,” Michael hissed.

 

“Except I would, and you know it.”

 

Everything was silent until Chloe’s phone beeped. She checked it. “Brooke’s waiting outside. We should probably get going. Bye Mikey!” Chloe spoke as if she wasn't planning on ruining Michael's life only moments ago. “See you around, Michael…” Jenna followed after her.

 

It was just moments later when Jeremy suddenly showed up beside him. “Hey, Michael, where have you been? I thought we were going to go over your house and finally finish ‘ _ Apocalypse Of The Damned: Hellscape’ _ ?”

“Jesus, Jere, you scared the shit out of me. But sorry, I got caught up with something.” Michael shut his locker. “C’mon, let’s head out then.”

* * *

 

“Aw, come on!” Jeremy yelled, dying for the fifth time in a row. Michael stopped reacting a while ago and Jeremy had noticed. “Dude, are you okay? You seem kind of… Distant.”

Michael looked over at him, “Yeah, uh, about that. Jeremy, I need to tell you something,”.

“Yeah, what is it?” He paused the game.

“Well… Earlier when I said I got caught up with some stuff, it was because…” He tried to think of a way to phrase it. “Chloe and Jenna threatened to blackmail me if we didn't do the break-up thing soon.”

“They  _ threatened _ you? Jesus, Michael, I’m sorry. I don’t know why we still talk to them. What did they threaten-”

 

“We need to do the breakup tomorrow.”

 

“What? Really? Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

 

Silence.

 

Michael ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Can you believe that all this started because we came to school looking like crap after an all-nighter of videogames?”

“Yeah, that was stupid of us.”

 

“Well, it’s not really our fault that our friends make terrible assumptions about everything all the time.”

 

“Yeah, but still, we did bomb that math test,” Jeremy laughed.

 

Michaels heart fluttered.

 

Then his phone went off. “Uh, speaking of which, it’s already two in the morning.”

 

“Oh god, I should probably get home before my dad freaks out.”

 

“Jere, he probably already freaked out. Just stay over here tonight, because I’m not driving, and I’m not letting you walk.”

 

“This is basically kidnapping.”

 

“People don’t typically get to play video games when they’re kidnapped.”

 

“Whatever, man. I’m being held here against my own will and that’s all that matters.”

“Well, if you really wanna see kidnapping…” Michael stood up and loomed over Jeremy, “Then I’ll show you kidnapping!”

 

Michael swooped down to pick Jeremy up, but he scuttled away, running to the other side of the room, laughing.

“You can’t run forever, Jeremy! I know this house like the back of my hand!” Michael ran at him, but Jeremy jumped out of the way, causing Michael to nearly run into the wall.

“But apparently not well enough!” Jeremy exclaimed and ran out the door and for the steps.

Michael managed to catch up and tackled him to the ground. They laid there for a second laughing until Michael eventually rolled off, trying to catch his breath. “This is so lame.”

“The lamest,” Jeremy shot back.

 

“Lamer than lame.”

 

“Lamer than the lamest lame.”

 

“Lamer than the lamest lamers lame.”

 

“Michael, that didn't even make any sense.”

 

Michael shoved him playfully. “ _ You _ don’t make any sense.”

 

Jeremy let out a chuckle. “We should probably get to bed.”

 

“Yeah…” Michael stood up and held out his hand for Jeremy. He grabbed it, pulling himself up.

Michael then proceeded to haul Jeremy back up over his shoulder.

“MICHAEL! AGAIN WH-”

“Shhh, it’s a part of the new tradition. Plus, you’re really fun to carry.” Michael

walked up the stairs and kicked the door to his room open-

“What does that even mean-”

-and tossed Jeremy on his bed.

They both proceeded to kick off their pants, leaving them in their boxers, aka, the comfiest sleeping attire. Michael plopped down on the bed and set his glasses on the night stand.

“G’night, my sweet summer prince” he said yawning.

“Shut up, ya’ goof”

* * *

 

Jeremy woke up to Michael basically clinging to him like a koala. He didn’t mind

it, of course, it was just something that didn’t happen very often. The more he thought about it, though, the harder his heart pounded.

Okay, he’ll admit it, he’s in love with his best friend of twelve years…

Okay, maybe “in love” is too strong of a thing to say. More like, he has a crush on his best friend of twelve years, but was he going to let Michael know that? No, of course not. The last thing he wants to do is to ruin their friendship, especially after everything that's happened.

  
  


_ BEEP _

_ BEEP _

_ BEEP _

_ BEEP _

 

_ SMACK _

 

Michael shifted away from Jeremy to turn off the alarm clock. He put on his glasses and moved away from Jeremy completely which made his heart drop slightly. Michael sat up and rubbed his face before poking Jeremy’s side. “C’mon, dude, we gotta get up and get ready for school.”

Jeremy turned around and looked at Michael, who had the worst bed head he’d ever seen, and quietly noted to himself how cute it looked. “Alright, alright, hold on,” he mumbled, sitting up as well.

 

They eventually did their hair, brushed their teeth, and ate breakfast. Jeremy ended up not packing any clothes for the unexpected sleepover so he just wore Michael’s old ‘Creeps’ sweater, even though it was nowhere near close to Halloween, but it surprisingly fit very well.

On the drive to school, they blasted Whitney Houston songs and poorly sang along. They were both pretty good singers, but not giving a crap  was more fun.

Arriving at school, they parted for their classes and didn’t speak until lunch.

Jeremy sat down at the table alone again and alerted the “Squip Squad” that it was happening today. At 12:04, he saw Michael approaching, looking both more confident and more disheveled than the couple days prior when the first attempt happened.

He walked up to him, fiddling with his hands before speaking up, “Jeremy Heere, I have something I need to tell you…” Everyone’s stares turned to them. Michael sounded really confident but looked like a nervous wreck.

“Michael? What happened, is something wrong?” Jeremy stood up to face him.

“I’m…”

Beat.

“I’m sick of this stupid lie!”

“Uh… what?”

“WHAT?!” Jenna could be heard from across the cafeteria.

This was not the plan.

“I’m sick of pretending and I’m sick of this fake relationship thing that’s been going on…” Michael ran his fingers through his hair, “I’m sick of the blackmailing, I’m sick of pretending like I don’t care… That’s why…” He took a deep breath, “That’s why I’m doing this cliche romcom-esque schtick.” He looked up at Jeremy and moved closer, “And thats why I’m doing this.”

Michael caressed Jeremy’s face with one hand, pulled him closer with the other, and their lips came together. Michael had fully prepared for Jeremy to move away, but he didn’t. Instead, he leaned into the kiss, cocking his head slightly to deepen it before tangling one hand in Michael’s hair and cupping his face with the other. It wasn’t the perfect kiss, their noses still bumped and Michael’s glasses still got in the way, but it was much better than the last one and more passionate as well. After what felt like both an eternity and a second, they pulled away.

“I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU, MIKEY!” Rich called. The “Squip Squad” started cheering in suit. Jenna was frozen as her phone immediately filled up with thousands of messages pouring in, asking about her lies. Chloe was astounded by Michael’s newfound confidence and now lack of blackmail for him.

Some other people joined in cheering. Most were more confused than before. One guy even started shouting insults, but was quickly silenced by Rich, who was then quickly restrained by security.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Except--

“Can we go somewhere else? I am not digging all of this attention,” Michael asked.

“The bell is about to ring and we have a free period next, let’s just go outside the school for a little while or something.” Jeremy suggested.

Right on cue, the bell rang, and they headed for the door.

 

“So, are we like, dating now?” Jeremy questioned.

 

“I guess? I mean, only if you want to,” Michael reassured.

 

“Wasn’t that big scene screaming ‘ _ yes _ ’ enough?”

 

“Point taken. Now, let’s go eat, I have two trays of gas station sushi in my backpack,”

“You planned all of this,”

“You know me so well, Jer. Look, I even planned for if you turned me down, see, I got some cookies and chick-flicks on DVD. I would have gotten ice cream, but I’m pretty sure it would have melted.”

They sat on the ground and began to eat, throwing their backpacks to the side, the scribble on them still reading “Boyf riends” on the backs. But now, the once feeble attempt at getting messed with by a bully actually turned out to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you all liked it and would love some feedback if possible <3

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go :^)


End file.
